Western Railroad Discussion > a day with Don!

Years ago, back in the 1960s I can remember listening to the AM radio station out of Topeka, KS. It was (still is) WIBW 580 on your dial. This was well before FM broadcasting came into prominent use. So AM radio was king of the airwaves. On my beloved little transistor radio WIBW 580 came in clear as a bell, 50 miles away in Manhattan! I could listen to Kansas City Athletics baseball broadcasts, as well as home town Kansas State University basketball & football games. To a young, sports-minded grade schooler it was heaven! But I also remember a local Topeka advertiser who used WIBW 580 a lot! The Ira Price Café was a legendary dining institution in Topeka. The 30-second radio spots, advertising the virtues of dining with Ira Price always ended with his famous quote: “I don’t want a million dollars, just a million friends”. I never forgot Mr Price’s sage philosophy.

One of the best things about being a TO member is the number of friends and contacts you can acquire. In over 8 years of membership I’ve made a rather large handful of good friends and dozens of other railfan contacts. In my recent SFe Convention adventure I was able to swing up into Northern Colorado & Wyoming on my return leg back to Kansas. It was while in Northern Colorado I turned one of those contacts into my good friend, Mr Don Allender of Eaton, CO. Below I am posting a few more shots from Don’s gracious tour-guidance around his ‘home turf’. While you’re looking here, check out ‘Artsy in Ault’ on the Western forum (9-12)…

1. UP 7230 is slowly rolling down the main line, underneath the US hwy 85 overpass in Greeley, CO. Don & I are stationed right on N 6th Avenue, parallel to the main line.

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2. 3. & 4. As the 7230 creeps along an impressive pair of commercial vehicles trundle by overhead.

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5. The 7230 has stopped for a meet with...

6. …UP 7724 which is just now taking the siding.

7. And there’s Don giving a friendly thumbs-up to the crew.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/15/19 11:18 by santafe199.

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8. The 7724 roll onward with the 7230 waiting in the distance.

9. The 7230 now has the green light, and is getting underway.
(Photos 1-9 taken in Greeley, CO)

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After a break for lunch Don gave me the tour of some of the non-UP highlights around his home turf. Later in the afternoon we bagged a couple more of Uncle Pete’s armada.

10. With Don on the side here’s UP 7252 rolling through Ault, CO with a unit hopper train.

11. We gave the 7252 a bit of a chase, with one more shot here in La Salle, CO.
(11 photos taken July 30, 2019)

Thanks for looking!
Lance Garrels (santafe199)
Don Allender (ATSFSuperChief)

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santafe199 Wrote:
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> The Ira Price Café was a
> legendary dining institution in Topeka. The
> 30-second radio spots, advertising the virtues of
> dining with Ira Price always ended with his famous
> quote: “I don’t want a million dollars, just a
> million friends”. I never forgot Mr Price’s
> sage philosophy.

We ate there once-had a saying in our family: “We’ve been there”. Though born and raised in Topeka.  spent most years living in Colorado. I loved going up to Cheyenne on 85. Thanks for all the great action shots. I don’t know when TO began but I didn’t learn about it until I had moved north. Wishing I had TO in CO.

BB

 

I am glad you and Don got to connect while you were out this way.
Perhaps in a year or two I will retire from my part time job and maybe have a little more time to run around the area.
Although I have to admit I don't have the fervor for the more modern power as I did with that which I grew up with.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Bob3985 Wrote: > ... glad you and Don got to connect ...

Yeah, it was like a double bonus! Make a new friend & get a great tour of some territory I've never really been in before. I was really surprised at how much traffic Uncle Pete runs between Denver & Cheyenne. Good railfanning photo-ops all over the place. It would have been fun to be there during the Amtrak #5 & #6 days...

Lance

Lance and Bob, I had a really great two days doing this and would do it again in a heartbeat. Now that some of Lance's shots are beiong posted I might as well do some of mine very soon.

Don allende

I cannot guarantee freight traffic but next time out this way I need to take you north along the BNSF and show you the hills and scenery.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Bob3985 Wrote: > ... next time  ... north along the BNSF ...

You're ON, my friend! I've scouted the line between Laurel & Casper pretty well, but have seen very little between Casper & Cheyenne. I've seen the images some of the "Front Range" guys have posted, especially Mr Hickey, and am itching to go explore the area! One of these days...

Lance